Small-business owners and individual practitioners often ask me about Facebook business pages. A lot of information is available touting the value of having one of these pages. The question is, whether or not your business can really benefit from developing a Facebook page.

The advantages of having a page include:

• Search engines like Facebook pages and offer the possibility of gaining search engine position if the page title is crafted effectively and content is kept current.
• Facebook pages provide an avenue for interacting with people who like what you do.
• On your profile, you are only allowed to have 5,000 friends, but you can have an unlimited number of people who are considered fans (people who “Like” your page).
• You can send notifications simultaneously to all of your fans, but not to your friends.
• Information posted to the Wall of your page can be seen in the newsfeeds of people who “Like” your page, giving you more visibility on Facebook.

Sounds good, doesn’t it? I thought so too. But after having one page for more than a year, and another for a few months, I’m not convinced that every small business owner should invest time or money in building a Facebook page. Here’s why: Continue reading →